“Musuminyina katu wabula” goes a Luba proverb, meaning that perseverance eventually yields results. And minister José Mpanda Kabangu, head of the Posts and Telecommunications ministry, embodies this spirit. He is determined to achieve what eluded him during his first ministerial post in September 2019 at the helm of Scientific Research and Technological Innovation: equipping the Democratic Republic of the Congo with its own sovereign satellite.
On Friday, June 5, José Mpanda Kabangu took a decisive step by granting an audience to a Chinese delegation from China Unicom and Genew Technologies. The discussions focused on building the sovereign satellite and deploying fibre optic infrastructure across the entire national territory. This meeting followed the minister’s recent mission to China in April.
Beyond the Chinese firms, the gathering brought together experts from the Secretariat General of PTNTIC, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPTC), the Congolese Fibre Company (SOCOF), the National Satellite Telecommunications Network (RENATELSAT), the National Remote Sensing Centre (CNT), as well as senior advisors to the Presidency and the Prime Minister’s office in charge of PTNTIC.
Minister José Mpanda clarified that his trip to China was political, seeking solutions for the country, but the real project discussions needed to involve technicians. That explains the presence of executives from the two Chinese firms in Kinshasa, where they will stay until June 19 to exchange views with Congolese experts on two flagship projects: the sovereign satellite, for which a memorandum of understanding was signed in April, and the national fibre optic backbone, whose agreements were revised in 2025.
The talks, which began on Monday, June 8, pursue three objectives:
1. Technical and financial structuring: validate the technical architecture of both projects, estimate costs, and finalise financing arrangements with the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Finance.
2. Consultation and institutional alignment: the two Chinese firms will formally notify and present to stakeholders including RENATELSAT, SCPT, SOCOF, CNC, CNT, SG PTNTIC, ARPTC, the Presidency and the Prime Minister’s office.
3. Preparation for due diligence in China and next steps: define the scope and timeline, identify Congolese delegates and sites to visit, produce deliverables before departure, and outline the stages following the due diligence.
Minister José Mpanda expects four outcomes from these discussions:
- Validated technical solutions;
- A finalised financing approach;
- Aligned stakeholders; and
- A planned due diligence mission.
The Congolese institutions involved in this project include the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s office, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Mines, and the National Cyber Defence Council (CNC). Technical entities are the Secretariat General of PTNTIC, ARPTC, FDSU, SOCOF, SCPT, RENALSAT, and CNT.
